Primary Navigation

Lao Si Chuan Restaurant at Outram Road

Chef Tang De Hai, my favourite chef for Sichuan food, left Chengdu Sichuan Restaurant at the end of March 2012 to set up Lao Si Chuan Restaurant with his family members. My fellow Sichuan food addicts and I waited patiently for him to settle in before popping by for dinner at the end of April.

This dish comprises of chilled chunks of poached chicken marinated in a spicy Sichuan peppercorn and chili sauce, accompanied with refreshing cucumber chunks and topped with lightly-roasted peanuts and white sesame seeds. We requested for century eggs to be added to the dish as the smooth and slightly gelatinous egg complements the spicy sauce. This is still the best we’ve had so far in Singapore and is a MUST-TRY.

Topping the spice charts for it’s “burn factor”, is Chef Tang’s signature Chong Qing La Zi Ji. This is not for the faint-hearted and certainly not for those who are unable to withstand the burn of chili. If Chef Tang had one dish to rule them all, this would be it because he makes the BEST La Zi Ji all of us have ever had in Singapore.

Tossed in a potent mound of dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns, peanuts and young ginger slices that have been fried to enhance the flavour, one has to rake through the spicy topping to pick out bite-sized, piquantly juicy deep-fried cubes of chicken. The golden-brown, crispy chicken cubes seem innocuous when removed from the pile but when bitten into, the heat from the Sichuan peppercorns that it had been marinated with builds up on the tongue rendering it numb with swollen lips to match. Though the dish has us sniffling, sometimes even tearing and gulping down Soya Bean Milk to counter the burning sensation on our tongues, we cannot help but keep eating the spicy chicken as the tingling feeling and the flush that it brings to our faces is quite addictive. This is a dish for sado-masochists of the culinary variety and absolutely a MUST-TRY!

Offering our embattled palates a reprieve from the escalating burn of the spices, is the slightly spicy bittergourd dish. The slight bitterness of the young bittergourd reduces the saltiness of the preserved mustard greens, allowing us to eat it on its own without needing to counter the salt with steamed rice. Yet another dish that’s a Must-Try!

The only non-spicy dish that we ordered, the milky broth was very flavoursome due to the generous use of ingredients. The portion shown here is a large serving. Though I do not eat Pig’s Stomach, I enjoyed the soup immensely as the ingredient didn’t leave a strong flavour of organ meat.

Shui Zhu Yu 水煮鱼片 @ S$16.80 (small) / S$36.80 (large)

How can any Sichuan dinner be complete without Shui Zhu Yu (loosely translated to mean “water-cooked fish”) ? One of my favourite Sichuan dishes, the dish looks intimidating because of the thick layer of chili-infused oil speckled with copious amounts of dried chili and Sichuan peppercorns. The smooth slices of fresh fish and crunchy strands of soy bean sprouts had partially absorbed the saltiness and spiciness of the broth. For me, the best part of this dish is the potato starch noodles as it is completely infused with the flavour of the spicy sauce. If you’re trying this dish for the first time, drain as much oil as possible from the ingredients as the “heat” is in the chili oil and avoid biting into any stray Sichuan peppercorns. This is a Must-Try!

Mapo Tofu is not Chef Tang’s specialty so whilst it was tasty, there was not much Ma 麻, or tongue-numbing quality in this dish. This is a pity because the dish typically triggers a tingling sensation on the tongue. This is a tasty complement to some steamed rice and suitable for those who are just starting to eat Sichuan food and are afraid of the tongue-numbing sensation.

This dish gets its name from a two-step cooking process, almost like the Chinese porky version of Mexican refried beans. The pork belly is first boiled in water, sliced thinly, then roasted over high heat in a wok to give it the sliced pork belly a smoky flavour before the spicy seasoning is added. The tender slices of pork belly glistened with fat rendered from the searing process. Coated with a fragrant and slightly spicy sauce, the succulent pork belly slices and chopped leek were good enough to eat on their own.

Second only to La Zi Ji, Ma Yi Shang Shu is another of Chef Tang’s most potent dishes. It is not listed on the menu but is available upon request.

Not an easy dish to find in Singapore, the literal translation for the name of this dish is “ants climbing up a tree”. The reason for the interesting name is because when some mung bean vermicelli is picked up with a pair of chopsticks, the minced pork that clings to the vermicelli threads resemble (with a healthy dose of imagination) ants climbing up a tree.

The strands of mung bean vermicelli had been thoroughly infused with the rich flavour of the spicy broad bean paste. Best eaten with steamed rice, the version Chef Tang has been dishing up of late has not been as fiery as it used to be at Ba Yu Ren Jia. Nonetheless, this dish is a MUST-TRY!

About superfinefeline

I'm a caffeine addict & must have my caffeine fix on a daily basis. I started this food blog on 27 September 2006 and moved my blog from its blogspot address to my own domain name, www.superfinefeline.com on 28 July 2011.

Thank you for posting this! I was a regular customer at Chengdu and was so disappointed with the food on my last visit in March. I was told that the Chef had left and they refused to give me any other information. I searched on the internet regularly for any information regarding Chef Tang De Hai and finally after many months, saw your post. I am going to eat there today! Thank you!

Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment! I’m happy to share information with fellow foodies. I’m sorry to hear about the disappointing experience you had in March.

When you get to Lao Si Chuan, please request for Chef Tang to cook for you. I was there on Monday evening and one of the dishes was not cooked by Chef Tang. The dish was not well-executed so I think there could be a less accomplished assistant in the kitchen now.

was salivating while reading this post, yeah, i noticed another sichuan restaurant popped up beside the panda chengdu one, now i know it’s the original chef who set it up…yet to try it and aim to try it soon

Wah, all your food pics look good…mouth-watering! I love fiery spicy szechuan food & my tolerance level for spicy is high, which makes it more difficult to get friends to try the potent fiery spicy food together these days. Nevertheless, I must quickly jio friends to try soon. Thanks for your recommendations!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

[…] The dish bears this name because the pork belly is first boiled in water, sliced thinly, then roasted over high heat in a wok to give it the sliced pork belly a smoky flavour before the seasoning is added. It’s fairly simple to cook this at home, the trick is to sear the sliced pork belly adequately to render a little fat without overdoing it and causing the thin slices to dry out excessively. The pork slices were a little too dry for our liking, perhaps the person preparing this dish had overcooked the pork. Chong Qing La Zi Ji 重庆辣子鸡 Spicy Deep-Fried Chicken Finally, Chef Tang’s pièce de résistance, La Zi Ji, the one dish that never fails to get us downing drinks and thoroughly in awe of his culinary prowess. The deep-fried, bite-sized, juicy morsels of chicken are seasoned with Sichuan peppercorns, chili and salt. Hidden in a mound of dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns, peanuts and fried young ginger slices, diners have to rake through the mound to locate the piquant chicken bits. The innocent-looking, golden-brown crispy bits of chicken belie their tongue-numbingly fiery nature that builds up as you eat more. Before you know it, you’ll soon be asking the waiter for Soya Bean Milk to help quench the fire on your tongue. In spite of the numbness and slight pain, your hitherto latent inner sado-masochist will have you raking through the mound for more. I especially like the bits of deep-fried chicken skin. Unless you are unable to stomach the spiciness of the dish, chances are you will love it. Far and away, the best many of my Sichuan makankakis and I have ever eaten in Singapore, this is absolutely a MUST-TRY! Chengdu Sichuan Restaurant 243 Outram Road, Singapore 169045 Phone: +65 6222-5335 Operating Hours: Daily from 5pm to 5am PS: Chef Tang left Chengdu Sichuan Restaurant at the end of March 2012 and is now at Lao Si Chuan Restaurant. […]

[…] If you want to try Chef Tang De Hai’s food, he started Lao Si Chuan Restaurant since March 2012. Find the details here: http://www.superfinefeline.com/2012/05/lao-si-chuan-restaurant-at-outram-road.html […]